


here where we lie

by sentimentalboy (lilacflowers)



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Exhaustion, Kang Yeosang-centric, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship, and hongjoong looks out for him a lot, yeosang is so tired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:28:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25202482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilacflowers/pseuds/sentimentalboy
Summary: Yeosang hadn't slept in thirty-two hours and everything was getting a little too overwhelming.
Relationships: Kang Yeosang/Kim Hongjoong
Comments: 21
Kudos: 232





	here where we lie

**Author's Note:**

> hehehehe i love hongsang so much  
> i wrote this completely delirious on my own sleep deprivation shgsfg

By the time he began to feel the effects of deprivation, Yeosang had gone without sleep for a total of thirty-two hours; in between their music show recordings, variety show appearances and fansigns, there just hadn’t been time. 

Most of the other members had managed to find some rest between the schedules; thirty minutes in the car on the way to Music Bank, twenty minutes while getting their hair done, twenty-five minutes during the breaks. Yeosang, however, was a light sleeper. He was jolted awake every time he closed his eyes, the bustling noise of the waiting rooms keeping him from any proper rest.

Slowly, but surely, he was beginning to notice the exhaustion setting in. It was making his eyes ache and his head pound. His limbs felt heavier and he was trying hard to ignore the nausea that came with his lack of sleep. At least, he didn’t have long left to wait; just one more photoshoot, then they’d be able to go back to the dorm and sleep for a few blissful hours. 

His shoot went well, thankfully. The director and photographer praised him plenty, impressed with his expressions and poses. He wouldn’t lie and say he didn’t enjoy the praise; it helped him shake a little of the nasty feeling brought on by his exhaustion. He smiled and politely thanked the staff, bowing low. 

Finally, he was able to sit down and just _rest._ He only had to wait for the other members to finish their shoots, and he would be allowed to go home. He watched, patient as ever, as his friends went up one by one.

Though, that said, peace was never an option when someone as lively as Wooyoung was your best friend. 

“Yeosangie, come on,” Wooyoung whined, pulling at Yeosang’s arm. He was trying to convince Yeosang to annoy Seonghwa with him, desperate for a partner in crime while San was busy taking his solo shots. “He’s sleeping, I need you to take pictures while I stick these to his face!”

He held up a packet of stickers proudly, little moustaches and fake eyebrows ready to make Seonghwa look stupid on camera. Yeosang was a little curious as to where Wooyoung found them, but his desire to just sit still for a while overruled any other feeling.

“I don’t want to, Young-ah,” Yeosang moaned, shaking Wooyoung off gently. Wooyoung scowled at the rejection.

“You’re so boring, Yeosang!” Wooyoung crossed his arms and stood up. Yeosang stared up at him, not liking how much the words stung. A strange ache resided in his chest. “You never want to do anything!”

And, usually, this sort of thing was easy for Yeosang to brush off. Wooyoung never meant it, of course; he wasn’t the type to say something mean on purpose. But Yeosang was _tired_ , and it made him sensitive. 

His lip wobbled dangerously and Wooyoung’s eyebrows shot up. “Yeosang? Are you going to cry?”

The funny thing about someone acknowledging that you looked like you were going to start crying was that it made you cry even faster. The second the question left Wooyoung’s lips, Yeosang felt the familiar burning sensation of tears filling his eyes, sniffling pathetically. 

He leapt to his feet and pushed past Wooyoung, hurriedly making his way towards the bathrooms before anyone else noticed his emotional state. He could hear Wooyoung calling after him but his thoughts were only focused on getting away as quickly as possible.

Embarrassingly, he burst into tears the second he shut himself in a cubicle. Fat tears rolled down his cheeks as he hiccupped into his hands, the exhaustion and stress from the past thirty-two hours finally overwhelming him. He tried his best to cry quietly, but he knew his sniffing and hitched breathing would give him away to anybody that might walk in. 

He heard the creak of the door opening and cursed his luck. He attempted to reign in his tears, for at least as long as the other person was in the bathroom. 

“Sangie?” Oh. It was Hongjoong. “Yeosang, are you in here?”

Yeosang couldn’t stop the little sob from escaping, and he heard Hongjoong exhale. A shadow appeared at the bottom of the cubicle door.

“Sangie, will you come out?”

He didn’t want to; he didn’t want to be seen like this, but he couldn’t ignore his leader. He would feel too guilty. So, he got up from the toilet seat and unlocked the cubicle, allowing Hongjoong to see the state he had gotten himself into. 

“Oh, Yeosang,” Hongjoong pouted sadly, lifting his hand to wipe away some of the wetness on Yeosang’s cheeks. His eyes were swollen and his nose red, the makeup that he had been wearing nearly all day ruined. “Come here, let’s get you cleaned up.”

Hongjoong did the best he could with some wet paper towels, carefully wiping off the makeup and tear tracks from Yeosang’s face. It was soothing, the gentle way he pressed them to Yeosang’s cheeks. Yeosang felt like he could fall asleep standing up.

There was a small smile on Hongjoong’s face as he asked if he wanted to sit in the car; Mingi was the last to shoot, and he was nearly finished by now. They could escape a little earlier and sit somewhere quieter. 

Yeosang nodded silently and allowed Hongjoong to lead him out of the bathroom. They stopped to thank the staff first; they were kind enough to not acknowledge that Yeosang had been crying, thanking them in return for their hard work. 

Hongjoong held Yeosang’s hand as they walked through the building towards the parking lot. The pressure was nice, and it gave Yeosang something to focus on other than the headache that was growing more prevalent by the second. Hongjoong’s hand was warm; it made Yeosang feel safe. 

“Here we are,” Hongjoong said, opening the car door for Yeosang and letting him climb into the back seat. He joined him as soon as he sat down, closing the door as noiselessly as possible behind him. 

Yeosang wasn’t in his right state of mind if he was completely honest. Usually, he would never be so bold with his physical contact, but his brain wasn’t functioning like normal; he didn’t hesitate to curl into Hongjoong’s side, his cheek resting comfortably on Hongjoong’s shoulder. His leader breathed out a laugh as he let Yeosang cling onto his arm like a child. 

“Wooyoung told me what happened,” he began, feeling Yeosang stiffen momentarily. “He was pretty panicked.”

Yeosang exhaled shakily, leaning a little more into Hongjoong for comfort. “I didn’t mean to worry him. I know he didn’t mean it, I just- I don’t know. I just got really upset for some reason. I shouldn’t have.”

“Hey, it’s not your fault,” Hongjoong soothed, his hand coming up to pet Yeosang’s hair. Yeosang melted into the touch, his entire body finally relaxing. “Have you had any sleep?”

Yeosang shook his head. Hongjoong sighed, letting his fingers tangle into the strands of Yeosang’s hair and pulling softly. A little whine left Yeosang’s lips.

“You’re just exhausted, Sangie,” Hongjoong murmured, concern evident in his tone. “I noticed you weren’t sleeping when everyone else was.”

That was the thing about Hongjoong; he paid attention. He was always watching his members, keeping an eye on them and making sure they were all okay. He was quiet about it most of the time, only bringing up his observations when it was needed, but it was reassuring knowing their leader paid such close attention to how they felt.

Though, they all knew he held a little more care for Yeosang. The members could see that Hongjoong had a soft spot for Yeosang the size of a small planet; not that they blamed him. When Yeosang joined their team, he was painfully shy, and it took a while to rouse him from his shell. They were all aware of how hard Yeosang worked to leave his comfort zone and how desperate he had been to be friends with all of them.

Hongjoong looked after Yeosang a little more; he never wanted Yeosang to feel left out or to miss a chance to speak. When they were doing live streams, he always made sure Yeosang had an opening to talk. When they were in a group, he never allowed Yeosang to be talked over. He was observant and could sense when Yeosang was retreating a little and was careful to create a way for Yeosang to join in without feeling too pressured. 

Yeosang appreciated Hongjoong more than he’s ever been able to say, but he could tell Hongjoong knew it anyway.

“I just couldn’t fall asleep. Everything woke me up,” Yeosang tried to explain. Any further explanation, however, was cut off by a yawn. Hongjoong laughed again, the sound vibrating through Yeosang in the most calming way. 

“It’s okay, Sangie. You can sleep now,” Hongjoong replied with a soft kiss pressed to the top of Yeosang’s head. Yeosang glowed at the show of love that was rare coming from his hyung. “I’ll wake you up when we get home.”

Though, it turns out he didn’t even need to tell Yeosang this; the boy had already passed out against his shoulder, his grip on his arm slackening. Hongjoong couldn’t help the fond smile that slipped onto his face; Yeosang was so _cute_. He was really the prettiest sleeper that Hongjoong had ever seen.

He was quick to hush the other members as they arrived at the car, ready to pile in as boisterously as usual. Seonghwa realised in seconds why Hongjoong was trying so urgently to keep them quiet and joined in, shushing the other boys and pointing to Yeosang’s sleeping figure.

Hongjoong could see the guilt on Wooyoung’s face as he sat in the seat in front of Yeosang, looking back to watch over his friend’s peaceful expression. He shook his head at Wooyoung with a smile.

“He just hasn’t slept in a long time,” he whispered, trying to ease Wooyoung’s mind a little. “He isn’t mad at you. He just needs some sleep.”

Wooyoung worried at his lip but seemed placated for now.

The car journey was dead silent for once; all the members kept to themselves, either sleeping or listening to music through their earphones. Yeosang remained asleep the entire journey back to the dorms to Hongjoong’s relief, cutely nestled into his side. 

Jongho was on his feet the moment they arrived, ready to carry Yeosang on his back up the stairs, his eyes bright. Hongjoong felt another wave of fondness wash over him at the care his members had for each other.

They were careful in manoeuvring Yeosang onto Jongho’s back, the boy barely stirring as he was manhandled. 

“He must have been really tired,” Seonghwa commented with a frown as he followed behind Jongho with Yeosang’s bag, hands hovering over Yeosang just in case. “He usually wakes up so easily.” 

Hongjoong monitored closely as they lowered Yeosang into his bed, making sure he was lying as comfortably as possible. Seonghwa pulled the duvet cover over him before sweeping his hand through Yeosang’s hair with a sad smile. 

“Sleep well, Sangie,” he breathed out, quietly and for Yeosang’s ears only. He kissed Yeosang’s temple then stepped back, looking to Hongjoong. The leader smiled at Seonghwa gratefully. He knew how much Seonghwa, too, cared for Yeosang differently. Perhaps it was a perspective that being the oldest members brought them; they could see that Yeosang’s emotions were a little more fragile than the others’.

Hongjoong waited until Seonghwa and Jongho had left the room before perching on the bed next to Yeosang. The peaceful expression had never left Yeosang’s face, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. He couldn’t help just watching for a while; it was calming, seeing Yeosang safe and resting.

He didn’t know how long he sat for, spaced out and staring blankly. It was his own sleepiness catching up on him, most likely. He should probably go to bed himself; slowly, Hongjoong began to stand, trying his best not to disturb Yeosang. 

He failed; a hand wrapped around his wrist, a tiny whine coming from the boy below him. Hongjoong’s heart broke at how sad he sounded.

“Don’t go, hyung,” Yeosang’s voice was small, his eyes barely cracked open. 

“You need to sleep in peace, Sang,” Hongjoong said, though he let himself be tugged back onto the bed anyway. 

Yeosang shook his head. “Stay with me. Please, hyung.” 

And Hongjoong was a weak man who couldn’t deny Kang Yeosang anything. Yeosang could ask for a lifetime of snacks on his credit card and Hongjoong wouldn’t have the heart to say no, whether he could afford it or not. 

Resigned, he gestured for Yeosang to scoot over and began to wriggle his way under the covers. It was then that he was glad for his comfortable joggers that he had changed into after his shoot. The bed was warmed already and Hongjoong could feel the pull of sleep tempting him. 

Yeosang was so sweet that Hongjoong really thought his chest would cave in; he cuddled into Hongjoong like he was a giant teddy bear, his head tucked under Hongjoong’s chin and fists clutching at his t-shirt. A satisfied hum came from the younger boy as he nuzzled his cheek against Hongjoong’s exposed collarbone. 

“Thank you, hyung,” Yeosang mumbled as sleep overtook him once again, his breaths evening out. Hongjoong stared in wonder down at the top of Yeosang’s head. His roots were coming in again, he observed; it wouldn’t be long before he’d be back at the hairstylist. Hongjoong would probably go with him to get his own roots touched up, and he was glad for that. Yeosang was a lovely presence to be around.

Hongjoong could feel a warmth spreading throughout his body, his heart aching in the most pleasant way. Really, it was only Yeosang who ever made him feel like this; the happiness he felt whenever he saw Yeosang smile, the pride he felt whenever Yeosang did well in his singing lessons or when he recorded something well. He was never one to be overly affectionate - more out of embarrassment rather than dislike - but Yeosang brought it out of him without even trying.

He didn’t think he was ready to put a name to the feeling yet, but he knew that Yeosang was special.

Gently, he kissed the crown of Yeosang’s head, smiling when Yeosang unconsciously pressed a little closer. Yeosang fit so nicely into his arms and Hongjoong felt like he could lie here with him forever. 

They still had hours to just be together in peace; the thought kept a smile on his face as he finally drifted off.

**Author's Note:**

> all i do is write yeosang being loved on. it's the only thing im capable of doing.
> 
> thank you for reading!!! please consider leaving a comment so i know im not yelling into a void ;;;;
> 
> follow [my Twitter](https://www.twitter.com/aerisang/) for more yeosang loving content!


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